Digital Commons Network^™

Aging And Exercising Gracefully, Karena P. Nguyen

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Exercise and physical therapy are concerns among patients experiencing menopause and patients who near the age of menopause. Newtown Primary Care serves a population, whose census indicates an aging population. An interdisciplinary pamphlet on weight-bearing exercises and community resources for the peri- and postmenopausal population was developed with input from physical therapists and doctors.

Doxypep, Angela E. Russo

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Handout To Promote Diabetes Education In Spanish Speaking Patients, Javier Rincon

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Hispanic adults are 70 percent more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes by a physician. In 2017, Hispanics were twice as likely to be hospitalized for treatment of end-stage renal disease related to diabetes, as compared to non-Hispanic whites. In 2018, Hispanics were 1.3 times more likely than non-Hispanic whites to die from diabetes. Lack of readily accessible educational material in different languages can lead to educational deficits in non-English speaking patients.

Patient Pamphlet For Basic Lab Values, Robert A. Adamian

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

As a result of lab results being immediately available to patients online, many patients experience unnecessary anxiety when viewing their results before speaking with their physician. Misleading lab values and increased patient concerns lead to more time spent by physicians answering messages on EPIC, which adds to the burden of public health costs. To combat this, a double-sided pamphlet was made with quick high yield facts about lab data that patients can use for information in the time between seeing their results and communicating with their doctor.

Suicide Screening At Tchc, William J. Yakubik Iii

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Vermont is currently battling with a mental health epidemic and one of the consequences of mental illness is suicide and self-harm. According to the Vermont Department of Health Vermont’s suicide rate is higher than the national average and suicide is the 8th leading cause of death in the state. Every part of medicine especially primary care is struggling with providing adequate resources for the demand needed to provide quality mental health care. Thomas Chittenden Health Center (TCHC) is no stranger to these demands and is working on ways to ensure each patient has access to the care they need. The …

Improving Primary Care Competency In Gender Affirming Care, Kae Luci Ravichandran

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Improving Cardiovascular Health In Low Socioeconomic Status Women Through The Vermont You First Program, Bradley M. Anair

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in men and women in the United States. Low socioeconomic status women are in a unique position because cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality is higher in lower socioeconomic status groups, and the risks of cardiovascular disease are often underappreciated in women. This project aimed to improve cardiovascular health in low socioeconomic status women through increasing awareness of the Vermont You First program. This program covers the cost of screenings for cervical cancer, breast cancer, and heart disease for low socioeconomic status women. They also offer lifestyle perks to improve cardiovascular health. This …

Using Narrative Medicine To Address Healthcare Stigma In Washington County, Vermont, Finlay Pilcher

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Stigma is a barrier to good health for people with certain medical conditions and non-medical circumstances. The purpose of this project is to use stories from members of the Washington County Community to advocate for the use of narrative medicine to mitigate healthcare stigma. A 10-minute recording was shared of an interview with someone with opioid use disorder during the presentation. Afterwards, healthcare professionals were asked whether the presentation, including the recording, impacted their percetion of narrative medicine and its clinical utility.

Prescription Stimulants: Preventing Misuse Among Adults With Adhd, Sadie M. Casale

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Stimulant drugs are a cornerstone in the treatment of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and are being prescribed at increasing rates. The safe prescription and use of these drugs by providers and patients alike is critically important to appropriately treating ADHD and preventing misuse. This presentation discusses how patients can be educated on the uses of stimulants and provides information on what to do in case of overdose. Additionally, resources for providers are provided to continue improving awareness of at-risk patients and community resources available to them.

Is There An App For That? Introducing Self-Guided Therapy-Based Mental Health Apps In A Primary Care Setting, Althea Jem Darbin Tapales

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The prevalence of mental health disorders in Vermont continues to be an economic burden, especially in Addison County. The Addison County, VT Community Health Improvement Plan 2022-2025 identified “Access to Mental Health Services” as the top priority with a general concern regarding the affordability and demand of such services, and shortage of providers in the general community. Consequently, the shortage of mental health services along with the coronavirus pandemic resulted in a mental illness epidemic which led to an accelerated growth of self-guided therapy-based mental health apps. Most apps are affordable, accessible, and prioritize patient privacy which overcomes barriers to …

Incorporating Social Stories Into Patient Waiting Room, Ashwini Sarathy

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Missed well child appointments are common across the country. In an effort to limit anxiety related to doctor's appointments, social stories were printed and offered to patients in the waiting room. The social stories went over common activities performed while at the doctor's office including taking blood pressure, height, weight, getting vaccines and physical exams.

Assessing Adherence With Naloxone Prescription Guidelines For Chronic Pain Patients: Recommendations For Improvement, Elizabeth O'Neill

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Although the Vermont statute governing prescription of opioids for chronic pain states that patients taking over 90 morphine milliequivalents daily or opioids with a benzodiazepine should receive a naloxone prescription, there is no mechanism within the Chronic Opioid Protocol report at Colchester Family Medicine to assess adherence to that policy. This project sought to determine if there is a gap between patients who should receive a prescription and patients who have a prescription to see if there is a need to alter the Chronic Opioid Protocol or provide greater monitoring to ensure patient safety while on opioids for chronic pain.

A Healthier Diet For Weight Loss, Hannah White

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Many patients presenting to clinic have the goal of weight loss to improve their health as obesity has many comorbidities. Many patients have multiple health concerns like Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia, PCOS, or joint pain. Part of the management of their conditions include weight loss, but many patients struggle, for years, to lose weight. A referral to the Metabolic Weight Loss clinic in Newtown, which will provide patients with nutritional information, evidence based diets, medications, exercises, and more, can take up to 1 year to get an appointment. The goal of this project is to provide information to patients in …

Healthcare Against Exploitation: Empowering Clinics To Identify And Support Human Trafficking Survivors, Daniel Mitchell

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Access To Prep In Plattsburgh, New York (Cvph Family Medicine), Kelly Knight

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

This project examines ways to increase access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Plattsburgh, New York (located in Clinton County). After a review of the current literature on the subject and interviews with community members, an intervention was conducted at CVPH Family Medicine. EHR tools were generated and distributed to providers in the practice, with the goal of increasing the distribution of patient education materials about PrEP.

Pamphlet For Identifying Anxiety And Initial Coping Strategies, William Hsu

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Anxiety affects up to 1/3 of the population in their lifetime. The geriatric population is especially susceptible to anxiety due to comorbid conditions and limitations in mobility. Anxiety is also difficult to identify, with mental health literacy with regards to anxiety being limited. This project aims to education patients on common symptoms of anxiety and at home interventions that can be initiated with helping to manage anxiety.

Analysis Of Primary Care Practice Patterns And Knowledge Of Microscopic Hematuria, Clemens An

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

To analyze and assess the primary care practices regarding the diagnostic evaluation of microscopic hematuria

Screening For Ptsd In Veterans And Expanding Awareness Of Ptsd Resources, Audree S. Baroni, Bradford Clark

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

PTSD is a prevalent mental health disorder that is especially prominent in the veteran population. Often veterans go without diagnosis and subsequently without treatment due to lack of awareness, screening, and a stigma they will loose benefits from the VA. This project aimed to identify the number of veterans with PTSD and provide alternative treatment methods for symptom management.

Addressing Non-Emergent Medical Transportation Barriers For Rural Vermont Patients, Casey D. Krueger

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Access to transportation is a Social Determinant of Health, yet many rural Vermonters face barriers to adequate transportation. Consequently, patients face difficulties accessing primary care and completing recommended health screenings. Destigmatizing ride programs and effective communication are key components of connecting patients with transportation resources. This project sought to develop a reference tool for clinic staff to improve communication about transportation barriers with patients and ultimately improve health outcomes.

Surgical And Non-Surgical Gender Euphoria Options For Bottom Dysphoria, Hunter Myers, Neeki Parsa

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Ct Imaging In The Anatomy Lab, Will Brown, Sam Afshari, Megan Zhou, Jacob Lythgoe, Ryan Walsh, Abigail Hielscher

Larner College of Medicine Fourth Year Advanced Integration Teaching/Scholarly Projects

Abstract:

Competency in basic radiology is an essential skill for graduating physicians. In preclinical courses at Larner College of Medicine, imaging instruction is delivered via asynchronous modules and on still images. Student feedback indicated a need for improved exposure to radiology at an earlier stage of training. This project was developed to improve first-year medical students’ ability to interpret cross-sectional imaging and aid students’ learning of anatomy by introducing CT scans into the gross anatomy lab. To guide future directions of this curricular development and the potential development of best practices for other schools interested in using similar techniques, this …

The Medication-Assisted Therapy (Mat) Program Algorithm At Community Health Centers Riverside (Chc-R), Aathman Swaminathan

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Increasing Access Of Outpatient Therapeutic Services For Adolescents With Persistent Symptoms After Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury, Natalie J. Bales

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Persistent symptoms lasting at least 21 days after initial traumatic brain injury occur in about 15-20% of adolescents. Initial assessment of concussions can be done using the SCAT5 and a wide variety of other standardized assessment tools. However, there are striking gaps in standard clinical procedure for follow-up care for athletes who have persistent symptoms. Furthermore, there are many issues with accessibility to therapeutic services including long wait times that prevent timely referral to those services. This pilot intervention was implemented at the University of Vermont to address those issues by providing a hotline resource for families to use and …

Improving Access To Snowmobiling Safety Information, Sean Taylor

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Snowmobiling is a common activity for rural people in areas like the North Country of New York state. There are inherent risks associated with an activity like snowmobiling, and a primary care office is a location at which patients and their families can be informed of recommendations from professional associations, state laws regarding the activity, and recommendations on safer practices and safety courses that are available. I modified an informational flyer that caters to patients in the Plattsburgh area of New York to try to encourage safer snowmobiling, especially for children.

Pre-Visit Questionnaire For Diabetic Patient Visits, W. Evan Shaw

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

What role does a pre-visit questionnaire, such as a "diabetic distress tool," play in optimizing diabetic patient visits?

Improving Safety For Recreational Water Sports At Candlewood Lake, Ct, Brian L. Shaw Ii

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Every year millions of people utilize bodies of water to participate in recreationally acitvity. Although the time spent outside and being physically active are widely endorsed as healthy habits, any body of water comes with safety risks that many do not anticipate. This project looked to improve safety for recreationally water sports and activity at Candlewood Lake, CT the largest lake in the state that is accessed by thousands evach year.

Implementing A Patient Resource Guide On Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv) At A Connecticut Primary Care Practice, Mahima R. Poreddy

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Intimate partner violence is an ongoing public health crisis in the United States. According to the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 39,000 victims were served in 2021, which was a 5% increase from the year prior. As intimate partner violence continues to affect numerous lives in Connecticut and across the nation, the risks of seeking assistance in these situations prevent those experiencing domestic violence from accessing support services. The cost of intimate partner violence can range from an increase in health care utilization to restricted access to safe housing. The Ridgefield Primary Care practice does not currently have educational …

Empowering Providers To Treat Menopause, Aranshi Kumar

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

This project created a brochure designed to empower providers to sift through the myths surrounding prescribing for the treatment of menopause.

Adolescent Substance Use: Standardizing Screening Methods In Clinical Practice, Bryan D. Shin

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Adolescent substance use is a highly pervasive issue that strongly correlates with increasing depression and anxiety rates. Standardized screening tools for substance use, such as the CRAFFT or the Screening to Brief Intervention Tool, are freely available but not widely utilized for every patient encounter in clinical practice. This project aimed to improve standardization of substance use screening at a primary care clinic located in Castleton, Vermont through implementation of the CRAFFT tool as an automatically-loaded form in each adolescent encounter note. The goal was to improve substance use detection rates by facilitating efficient incorporation of standardized screening into the …

Healthy Food Access And Education, Elizabeth Kelley

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Providing resources and educational materials to families about healthy foods